In this second part of a 2-episode series, Dr. C. Kemal Nance examines the movements, meaning, and structure of the contemporary African dance technique known as Umfundalai.
In this second part of a 2-episode series, Dr. C. Kemal Nance examines the movements, meaning, and structure of the contemporary African dance technique known as Umfundalai.
[Music begins, composed by J.S. Bach, performed by Jess Meeker]
NORTON OWEN: Welcome to PillowVoices, a production of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival with content from the Pillow Archives. I’m Norton Owen, the Pillow’s Director of Preservation. And I am delighted to introduce Dr. Kemal Nance, continuing this two-part exploration of a dance technique known as Umfundalai. Here Dr. Nance takes a deeper dive into the practice, philosophy, and the meaning of this contemporary African technique.
DR. KEMAL NANCE: In Part 1 of our exploration of Umfundalai, we honored Dr. Kariamu Welsh, who was my teacher and the progenitor of the Umfundalai Technique. In this episode of PillowVoices I’d like to focus more squarely on the technique. First, we will hear from Melanie George in conversation with Monique Newton Walker and me at the Pillow in the summer of 2022. Then, we’ll focus on movements, meaning, and structure of a Umfundalai class and practice, as experienced in a “Cultural Traditions” workshop led by Mama Kariamu Welsh and Baba Chuck Davis, who have both transitioned.
MELANIE GEORGE: Monique, can you, um, talk to us about the actual technique, and how it differs from what you might encounter in a traditional West African class? And specifically, like what is the, what is the neotraditional of it all, physically?
MONIQUE NEWTON WALKER: So, when entering, uh, there are some commonalities, uh, because in the technique, one thing that we do teach, as Mama said, African dance to pull, what she said in the video, “African dance resides, African dance lives wherever African people reside.” So, there are definitely some commonalities in going to, uh, West African class, you're honoring, uh, attire, for example, uh, in a lapa, the wrap piece of garment that women, um, that people wear around their waists, you're honoring, uh, the Choko toes Shokotos or the pants, those different Dabas . So, there is, you know, you can come into Umfundalai class, they'll be live drummers, which is something that she, um, incorporated. However, one thing with Umfundalai, is that instead of using the djembes that we see present in a West African class, you'll, uh, we prefer congas, when, um, live music. And live music is the preferred way to have these classes. So, you know, you have different things like a Lapa [a lapa] live music, but there are certain rituals and protocols that are in place in Umfundalai class that may or may not appear in a West African class that is required to enter the space, whether you're familiar with it or not. So, for example, a gesture of respect before you enter the dancing ground is considered sacred. Dobale the Yoruba word, Dobale , that we use gesture of respect. And so that's one thing you may or may not see. But Umfundalai is very particular in terms of the protocols and the rituals that we have because it stems not only out of the African tradition and the diaspora, but the African American, and setting those things in place from beginning to end. So, while there is, there are as a codified technique, it does, there are things that will be familiar to any dancer in terms of the warmup, center floor work across the floor, uh, choreography. But, um, these codified progressions that you'll have when you go to a West African class, for example, depending on the teacher, you know, you're not sure what dance you may or may not get, and it may focus on one dance or several dances. Uh, Umfundalai is focusing on, you know, the, the teacher will guide the class, but things that are consistent are the rituals and different, uh, movement vocabulary. So, from the ritual to the center floor work to doing work across the floor. So it's, it's really living in that idea of Africa and, um, the quote that I just gave, um, taking from Mama Kariamu, it really lives in that idea that we're not only just doing dance for dance's sake, but we're bringing all the philosophy, and all these different protocols and movement along with us in the experience that you have from beginning to end. And people come out of it having all sorts of responses. You know, physically, they get what they need physically, they get what they need mentally and emotionally. But one of the things that is consistent to Kemal's point that he said earlier is that you definitely leave empowered. There are very few people that don't leave feeling empowered, and not because they moved their bodies in a way that was maybe new to them, but it's that holistic approach and just that or-organic nature of the technique itself that makes people leaving the class feeling different than they did. And yes, you can go to any class and have that same per, that same feeling, but you're leaving not with just the feeling, but with the information as well that, um, you know, that's going to let you know why you're feeling empowered.
MELANIE GEORGE: Are the things like, um, the placement of the feet and parallel or the use of a conga instead of a djembe, is that part of the sort of, Americanness, are those choices influenced by the Americanness of the African American, you know?
[Walker: Mm-hmm]. I guess I'm just trying to get to, um, how do we see that specific Black American experience [Walker: mm-hmm], that we know, because we know things about movement. I, I consider jazz to be very similar in this way [Walker: Mm-hmm] that Um, in that it could only happen here [Walker: Mm-hmm]. Right? And so, I'm curious what are the things, even though I'm sure it is a gumbo, as you say, in that you can't probably identify something so specific, but what are the things that we know are the influence of the Black Americanness as opposed to the Black Africanness?
DR. KEMAL NANCE: I would say the codification of it [Walker: Hmm]. Um, the fact that we do progressions, like in, in neo-traditional African dance, there's a concern about authenticity, there's a concern, there is a, an impenetrable, um, relationship between the specific movement and the rhythm, right? So, you hear this a lot in neo-traditional African dance, the break. So, when you're doing Mandiani, you're doing Kakilambe, you're doing Wolosodon, there's certain dances you do to those specific rhythms. We free, um, we respect those traditions in Umfundalai, but we free ourselves from that stricture so we can, so in Umfundalai might change the rhythm and, and elongate the movement somehow, or we'll, and we concern ourselves with how to do the movement. So, um, in, in many neo- traditional African dance circles, you learn how to do the dance by doing the dance. They show you the whole thing. And we concern ourselves with progressions. Like we, we, we, we actually geek off about thinking about, okay, how do we get people from A to Z? Like, how do we get them from this step to this step so they can really do it the way that, that's safe for their bodies, and that they can continue doing it into, you know, their, um, old age? Um, so I think the Americanness is, and probably the needs, um, for her to advocate for this technique, being an academic herself, the Americanness is probably in the codification of it. The fact that you have a progression, the fact that we call it different things, and the fact that there are lines going across the floor. That everything is not in a circle. I think those are the things that are, are the elements that I think we can attribute to an, an American, um, space. Yeah.
MELANIE GEORGE: And, oh, sorry. Go ahead.
MONIQUE NEWTON WALKER: I was just gonna say in addition to that, the experience in and of itself, because Kemal referenced, him and his mom having, um, you know, dancing every morning to, um, Chic Le Freak. That's, I'm a, I'm gonna listen to [Nance: Freak out, get it correct] let’s get it right, let's get it right. But, um, there are moments, there are very family and familial type moments that we experience in Umfundalai. So yes, we have these commonalities of parallel feet, we have a stance, um, with weight forward, and different things that help us inform these progressions. But then there are those moments, these affirmations that happen throughout the class. For example, um, if you think about the Black church, the affirmations of “Amen, hallelujah,” “Yes, go on and dance,” that exists in the dance class [George: Hmm], you know, whether it's some sort of call or ululation [Nance: Mm-hmm]. And you don't know when it's going to come, but it's definitely important, an important part of the experience. So that's when the African American, um, is, um, you know, that's when the Americanism traits, they start to come into the dance classes and why people leave. They leave in power because you're constantly affirmed, not only through the movement and the practice, but all those other extra things. You get affirmed verbally, you get affirmed by a touch, a hug, um, all sorts of things that you didn't know realize you needed in [George: Hmm], uh, in a dance class. I had a very unique ballet teacher, but she never hugged me [George: No and laughs] because that wasn't what, you know, that wasn't the intention of that particular class [George: Yes, yes]. That wasn't the goal. You couldn't help not, but have Mama Kariamu give you some sort of hug or affection, especially if you did good. Cuz those progressions are hard and Oh my goodness, to get affirmed by her in such a way, that's my mom, my birth mother saying, yes, Monique, great job. Wonderful. You know, or anyone's parents [Nance: Mm-hmm] or somebody that's just helping you go on and come back to the class and go a little further with your practice.
[Music Transition]
DR. KEMAL NANCE: Count four beats: 1, 2, 3, 4. Now imagine a dancer–in this case, the dancer is a young Monique Newton–standing strong with her weight slightly forward while facing the other students in the class. With each count she achieves a swimming motif in which she moves her arm from being by its side to making a full rotation from front to back until her arm returns to its beginning position. She keeps her torso frontal, resisting the temptation to spiral, almost as if she was moving herself through bodies of water. She moves the right arm on the first count, the left arm on the second, and the right on the third, and then on the fourth count, she reverses the direction of the right arm so that the rotation happens from back to front. She bends her legs as her feet maintains a parallel position and sends her corresponding thighs back behind herself until her feet point to the sun. As her feet return to the earth, she contracts her pelvis with an intense squeeze. In Umfundalai, we call this phrase the “Ibo Arms Sequence” and in this clip Monique performs it beautifully. Because of the rhythm that the drummers are playing and Welsh’s command of the space, one would think that this movement has direct origins to indigenous movement practices in Africa. However, this sequence is a contemporary expression, movement that narrates stories of the 40 Igbos from what we now know as Nigeria who had been stolen and brought to the U. S to be enslaved. Except that these Africans resisted their enslavement by returning to the water. This is an actual, historical event. Monique Newton-Walker demonstrates this beautifully in this clip as you can vividly see the swimming motif and the pathos of the story through her pelvic contractions.
DR. KEMAL NANCE: Ah, This is a common problem. We see that the young woman in the purple lapa, like many of the students around her, is having difficulty negotiating the polycentric aspects of the phrase. They are having problems dancing multiple centers and multiple rhythms within a 8-count phrase, thereby illuminating the complexities of African-informed movement.
[Audio excerpt of Dr. Welsh leading class, you hear the sound of drums while Dr. Welsh guides students by repeatedly stating: “knee to the chest.” A little late she adds: “Good. Okay understand, I want those knees to chest.” A student asks: “Is that only when we are turning or you’re walking? And Dr. Welsh replies: “Only when you are turning. All right?” And she continues to instruct as students move to the sound of the drums].
DR. KEMAL NANCE: So, this is emotional for me. I think about how many times I have demonstrated this phrase and how many times I have demanded my students to perform this phrase. The “Kananga Legs Lifts,” as it is coined in Umfundalai, is a kick-ball-change sequence at its core. However, one has to bring the knee to the chest, one has to square the arms and invert them. You have to comply with the rhythm. You have to move your head, you have to contract your pelvis. It is an exercise in polycentrism and it really challenges students aerobically and anaerobically.
I so miss how Kariamu Welsh, my teacher, my dance mother, would demand our excellence as she does of Monique Newton-Walker in this video. Welsh performs the quality, the essence of the movement, then she points, with declarative sentences, she tells us what she wants the movement to do on our bodies. She is clear: “I want your knees to your chest.” While these students presumably speak and understand the English language, many of them have not complied with her request. This is a classic image in Umfundalai practice.
DR. KARIAMU WELSH: Remember though each time you come down, both legs have to be straight. Want to get that heel down, okay? And the accent is on down. You want to send a message down through the earth. Yes. All right? So let’s take it a little bit slower so they can get this. Okay? [Ja,li, Ja, li tu ne][Dr. Welsh counts off, the drums begin playing, and students start moving with Dr. Welsh continuing to lead them through the practice].
DR. KEMAL NANCE: With the legs hips-width apart and the feet in parallel position, a dancer raises the right knee while their foot points down to the earth. The movement is executed slowly but with a focused intentionality. Then, the dancer’s left heel or the heel of the supporting leg lift off the floor so that when the dancer’s right foot returns to the floor so that the dancer can bring both heels down to the floor at the same time. The dancer repeats this phrase four times on the right side and then again four times on the left. With each cycle, the rhythmic dynamic of the movement changes. The ultimate goal is to achieve speed and accuracy with the movement so that the dancer appears to be stomping the earth while getting their knees as high as they can get them. This is the classic preparation for the “Nigerian Stomp,” one of Umfundalai’s core movements.
DR. KARIAMU WELSH: Um, I’m soft spoken but I’ve been working at it. Okay? You are not giving me the your all. So don’t mistake my soft-spokeness, okay, for being too lenient. Okay? You’ve gotta work on this. What happens is that because dance is a language, it’s easy for us to lapse into other things. There is a Senegalese stomp. But this is the Nigerian stomp, which is a different accent, okay? I don’t want you to go side to side. What’s your name in the back there? [Student: Alysha]. Alysha don’t, don’t be going like this [sound of Dr. Welsh demonstrating] and, and consequently the accent is coming up. The accent is down. People…each time: down, down, down, down. Down, down [sound of Dr. Welsh simultaneously demonstrating]. No, you are coming up. Can you feel it? [Student: Yeah]. It’s down, each time. Down, down…Watch what happens with the leg. Yes, each time.
DR. KEMAL NANCE: Don’t confuse my “soft spoken-ness for leniency.” Now that says it all. I still marvel at how she was able to get as much as she did from us without ever losing her composure. Right here, she puts the class on alert. They are not giving themselves over to her. For her, that is a problem.
DR. KARIAMU WELSH: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. 2-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. 1-2-3-4-2-2-3-4. 1-1-1. Okay, here we go. But you are going up sweetheart [Newton: I know]. Yes. It’s down. Down, Down, down, down.
DR. KEMAL NANCE: This is classic Mama Kariamu. She goes to Monique Newton Walker, looks in her eyes and tell her the sequence, intimating the direction but not doing it. It is irrelevant if Monique understands her or not. Welsh‘s expectation is that she either completely understands her or to perform something that is close to what she expects. In this moment, there is no room for shyness. The only thing that is missing is her speaking in her Umfundalai dialect. Monique got off easy because Welsh actually gave her the counts. In other moments that I’ve lived through, she would only just sing the rhythms.
DR. KARIAMU WELSH: Okay, people. Know what you are doing? You’re um eh, um, The idea is interpendence. Ok. Let me show it to you. Let me see if I can do it. Okay? Your. Your weight is forward. You’re going to pull back the pull back into the hyperextension. First. Long neck Don’t go there yet. Long neck, okay? This is the way it should be. The tension should be here, before you plie, before you bend. Now bend. Yes. There you are. Shoulders down. Flat back. Okay? The buttock almost to the floor but not touching. Now the important part is how you come up. Okay? Pull back through the hyperextension. Pull back. So pressure not on the knees. Yes. Keep the weight forward. Yes. And come up. One piece, one piece. Ba-Ya.
DR. KEMAL NANCE: This is the “Ghanaian Squat.” It is an archetype from West African folk life. It is achieved by separating one’s legs a little wider than the hips and lowering one’s pelvis below their knee level while keeping the torso erect. In the Umfundalai technique, it is a stretch and a metaphor for inter-dependence.
One of the things I have so admired about Welsh, my dance mother, is how she walks. While she describes herself as a shy person, her walk, whether it is the studio or throughout the world has always had a stride to it, a musical confidence, a rhythm. Consequently, she would talk fondly about how her teacher, Pearl Reynolds would walk down the streets of New York. According to Welsh, men would melt as Reynolds walked by and Welsh, herself, took a special kind of pride as they shared space and would walk together. Here, in this class, she wants something from her dancers. She wants a style, a presence, and an indication of spatial and cultural agency.
DR. KARIAMU WELSH: You can’t come across the floor apologizing for your existence. You can’t do that. You got to pull up, okay? Tailbone down, okay? And, and if you struttin’ your stuff that’s fine. But you gotta pull up, okay? You got to walk proud, okay? I don’t want to see you collapsing in your bodies that way.
DR. KEMAL NANCE: Here, Welsh demonstrates the “Sacred Ring Shout.” This version of the dance is done by bending the legs and bending the torso so that shoulders are over the knees. The pelvis pulses and the weight shifts from side to side while performing a shuffling two-step. It is important that the feet stay connected to the earth. Its historical significance is that it is one of the few movements that we can trace from African American culture to its root in Africa and it stays intact. Moreover, it is this movement that unified Africans from different countries during the enslavement period in the U. S. This movement housed spiritual synchronicity with forced European ideology. Welsh performed it with grace and dignity and awareness. Welsh repeats, “Yes! Yes!” As a dancer, you live for her to say yes in regards to something you are doing. In this case she is affirming Michelle Gibson but more than yes, she is telling her that she sees her and that she agrees with what her body is dancing. It is a dialogue of sorts. Michelle, then dances more beautifully as her aplomb with the movement has been confirmed.
DR. KARIAMU WELSH: You’re working well okay? But you’ve got to really pay attention to the nuances and subtleties because, you know, although it seems like a lot is going on, and some of you are giving me, you know, when we take this movement here, it’s one drop. One drop. Okay? Some of you are giving me what I call “hoochie coochie.” You got a lot going on there. Okay? And it is not your…you don’t need so much, okay? Sometimes we, we are working too hard. Believe it or not, in African dance we know how to conserve our energy. And it looks like more is happening than what is actually happening. It’s illusion [sounds of her demonstrating the movement along with her verbal guidance]. It’s just, it’s just, one “bom.” There’s not a whole lot of stuff going on in there. Okay, alright? [sounds of her demonstrating the movement along with her verbal guidance, while her students move]. 1-Drop, drop, drop. Yes, yes, yes.
DR. KEMAL NANCE: She told the dancers that they were giving her hoochie coochie. It still makes me laugh. I think that she is trying to get them to see that there is a fine line that surrounds that which is sensual. When that line is blurred or disrupted, we land in a contrived sexual expression.
[Sound excerpt from Dr. Welsh’s class, which ends with the Dr. Welsh and students expressing: “Ashe”].
DR. KEMAL NANCE: Welsh takes the class through a ritual called Ndmira Zuwa. In Umfundalai studio practice, it offers a time for dancers to collect themselves, to reflect on the movement experience they had just had. Loosely translated, this is a Shona phrase which means “Wait for me sun.” Its function in the American practice is the ability to make time, to slow down, to make note of the moment you are living. And in this moment, in this closing, as we celebrate Umfundalai, I invite you to take a moment to note the moment you are living by joining me in a ritual called Dobale. You thank your heart, by placing your hand on your heart, because it beats and it sustains life. You put your hand on the earth and thank the earth for letting you dance on her. You come back to the heart because it continues to beat, it continues to sustain life, for which we are very grateful. You put your hand to the sky, and thank the heavens for not coming down on you. You come back to the heart, one more time, because again, it’s sustaining life and it’s keeping you alive. And then you extend your arms to me and I extend my arms to you, without whom this experience would not be possible. Ashe. It is good. It is done. Thank you for tuning in.
[Music begins, composed and performed by Jess Meeker]
NORTON OWEN: That’s it for this episode of PillowVoices. Thank you for joining us today. On behalf of Jacob’s Pillow, we look forward to sharing more dance with you through the films, essays, and podcasts at Dance Interactive dot Jacob’s Pillow dot org. And of course, through live experiences during our festival and throughout the year. Special thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts for helping launch this podcast series. Please subscribe to PillowVoices wherever you get your podcasts, and visit us again soon, either online or on site.